AMARILLO, Texas — The Amarillo Fire Department is investing over $13 million to enhance its fleet with six new fire engines and two ladder trucks.
Responding to around 20,000 calls annually, the department operates from 13 fire stations across the city. Currently, over half of the fire engines in Amarillo are more than 10 years old, KVII reported.
Deputy Fire Chief David Kouba emphasized the importance of maintaining the fire trucks in top condition.
“It has to be 100 percent,” Kouba said. “It can’t be, well, it’s 80 percent today. Everything on that thing has to run 100 percent to be able to go out there on response, so keeping up with that is a high demand.
Kouba explained that the plan is to begin replacing the older fire engines and establish a 10-year replacement cycle moving forward. This approach is expected to reduce overall ownership and repair costs while ensuring that fire trucks are retired before they become too expensive to maintain due to their years in service.
City of Amarillo Chief Financial Officer Laura Storrs said the city will partner with a brokerage firm to manage financing and secure the price.
The first of the new fire apparatus is expected to arrive in about 18 months.
